It is well known in the field of firearms to modify barrels to compensate for various effects of firing a projectile using propellant gasses generated from the combustion of a propellant. Some of the effects are muzzle jump and/or recoil and muzzle blast. Each of these effects can be undesirable for reasons of accuracy, secrecy and general safety to the operator. Muzzle jump or recoil can adversely impact accuracy and reduce the rate of delivery of projectiles on target accurately. Muzzle blast is a loud noise and flash generally accompanying the discharge of a firearm. The combusted propellant gasses leaving the muzzle behind the projectile produce a loud bang and a flash. The noise can be damaging to the operator or nearby individuals not wearing ear protectors and can bring unwanted attention in instances of covert use. The flash also can adversely affect night vision and draw unwanted attention to the use of the firearm.
Attempts to ameliorate these problems in the past have resulted in many devices which are attached to the muzzle end of the barrel of a firearm. Included in these devices are muzzle brakes and suppressors/silencers. Muzzle brakes have been used in the past to reduce the recoil action of a gun when it is fired. Muzzle brakes employ the forward momentum of a pressure wave produced by expanding propellant gas upon detonation of a cartridge. By deflecting some of such propellant gas in a suitable manner, a forward impulse is generated on the brake and hence the barrel of the firearm. This forward impulse balances, to some degree, the recoil impulse on the barrel of the firearm. These devices, however, have little or no affect on the muzzle blast.
Suppressors/silencers have been developed specifically to deal with muzzle blast. Suppressors/silencers redirect and disperse the burnt or burning propellant gasses. By dispersing the gasses, a sharp muzzle blast noise is blurred and muted to produce a much softer sound. This is typically accomplished by employing a series of chambers distributed serially in a cylindrical canister attached to the muzzle of the firearm. As the projectile leaves the muzzle, the propellant gasses are temporarily received by the consecutive chambers. The gasses escape from the chambers, as the projectile leaves the canister, in a dispersed and delayed manner, reducing the noise generated. While effective, the released gasses will escape out both ends of the canister. The gasses entering back down the barrel are often referred to as blow back or back pressure. During the cycling of the firing mechanism, such as a bolt carrier in automatic small arms, back pressure can result in propellant gasses carrying combusted and un-combusted propellant particles and residue back into the mechanism. This can adversely affect the operation of the firearm by leaving deposits which can result in jamming of the action and potentially endangering the operator.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved suppressor/silencer for firearms.
Another object of the invention is to provide a suppressor/silencer with greatly reduced muzzle blast.
And another object of the invention is to provide a suppressor/silencer with reduced or no back pressure.